TRAIL of Johnson County helps keep senior citizens in their homes

Affiliate members Charles Hesse of Coralville, left, and Dwight Tardy of Iowa City talk shop during a TRAIL social event last summer at the Eastside Recycling Center in Iowa City.(Photo: Special to the Press-Citizen)

You like your home and neighborhood and would rather not relocate. After all, it’s been your home for a long time.

But let’s face it. You are getting what some call “up there” in age.

You don’t drive as well as you once did or maybe you don’t drive at all. It would be nice to get a lift to church, the dental office or physical therapy.

Technology may frustrate you. Occasional guidance on using your cellphone or the TV remote would be helpful.

Small household chores are more physically challenging. Like changing the smoke detector batteries, digging out the holiday decorations or filling the water softener with salt.

Or maybe you’re still able to do these sorts of things around the house, but, frankly, you’d rather spend your time on the activities you enjoy in retirement. You wish you could sometimes hand off those must-do chores to someone else.

TRAIL was launched here last April, the acronym standing for Tools and Resources for Active Independent Living. It has since raised nearly $125,000 in start-up donations and pledges, hired a part-time executive director and now has 140 fee-paying members and 32 member-service volunteers. Another 30 volunteers also serve on committees.

“Our goal was to have 60 members by the end of 2017,” says Susan Shullaw, a founder of the organization who is also an officer and volunteer. “So we’re pretty happy to have more than doubled that.”

Most of the member-clients are affiliate members who pay $100 per individual annually or $160 per household. At this level, they can enjoy the various social activities TRAIL provides, like book clubs or group dinners or other outings. Plus, they get access to specially screened local service providers or vendors they can trust.

A full annual membership is $540 for individuals and $720 for a household. This includes everything in the affiliate membership, plus the major benefit of providing volunteers who will come to your home. Transportation, a check-in service, technology help or light handy-person assistance are among the many services at this level.

TRAIL trains dedicated, unpaid volunteers who undergo criminal background checks. These volunteers even contribute their own gas when they transport members.

Shullaw thinks the affiliate membership is popular because of its social activities. “For some, it may be kind of a ‘test drive,’ which might lead them to a full membership later,” she says.

Executive Director Hillary Ramaker describes the full membership services as “good neighbor things” possibly once handled by an individual’s family or nearby friends who may no longer be available to help.

The TRAIL logo on this event sign is cropping up more in Johnson County. Susan Shullaw, left, and Hillary Ramaker discuss ways this new, volunteer-based nonprofit works to help keep older residents in their own homes.(Photo: Dick Hakes / Special to the Press-Citizen)

“We were surprised at the number of our members who actually have adult children living in the area,” says Ramaker. “We think members sometimes feel a little guilty about relying so much on their kids and just want to give them a break, plus our volunteers are sometimes easier to schedule.”

She adds that in one case, a son who lives far from the area purchased an affiliate membership so he could have access to the vetted vendors and help steer his parents to reliable resources here.

Ramaker is the only paid staff member of TRAIL. She coordinates volunteers and committees from an office provided at the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center downtown.

“It’s been a learning experience for all of us, and we’ve had to re-envision some services and operations,” she says. TRAIL has already reduced the fees for full memberships to make the in-home services more affordable for clients.

“But we know we cannot exist on membership fees alone,” she adds. “Nationally for groups like ours, income is usually 50/50 between member fees and fundraising.”

The group started an annual fund last year that raised more than $6,000, mostly from individuals. This year, TRAIL will actively seek corporate sponsors.

Shullaw says board members are very pleased with the organization’s first-year success, which will be celebrated at an anniversary event in late April or May.

“We’re conducting a survey among members and volunteers now and will hold a board planning session later in the spring to set our priorities for the coming years,” she says.

TRAIL collaborates with the Senior Center and is included in the Directory of Aging Services maintained by the Johnson County Livable Community organization. Although several of its volunteers are nurses, TRAIL cannot offer any kind of health or medical service assistance in homes.

Shullaw says two Iowa City groups of concerned citizens started the ball rolling for TRAIL. They wanted to remain in their own homes as long as possible and knew friends and neighbors who found it more difficult to care for themselves and their homes as they grew older.

These local residents eventually made connections with the nationwide Village to Village Network, which encourages the creation of volunteer-driven groups to help older adults age in place. TRAIL is said to be the first organization in Iowa offering a broad range of services and social opportunities under this Village to Village format.